West Nile virus (WNV) has been identified in five American crows from the St. Louis area. The U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center, Madison, Wisconsin, notified the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Oct. 5 that the crows tested positive.

“The fact that the virus has finally appeared in Missouri really comes as no surprise to us,” said Dr. Howard Pue, chief of the department’s Section of Communicable Disease Control and Veterinary Public Health. “We a nticipated that it would show up either this fall or next spring, since it had been found in other bordering states. Missouri has been conducting ongoing surveillance and will continue to monitor its occurrence and provide public health information.”

The positive aspect of finding WNV in Missouri now is that the weather may be on our side and work in our favor,” Pue added. “With cold weather quickly approaching, the spread of the virus this year should be slowed by an early frost.”

Several mosquito-borne diseases, such as St. Louis encephalitis, occur occasionally in Missouri, but WNV has been the most publicized recently. West Nile virus was first discovered in the United States in New York City in 1999 and spread to most northeastern states by the end of 2000. This year, the virus has spread along the Atlantic seaboard and Gulf states, and has also started to invade the Midwest